ReadWriteWeb has been running a special series on recommendation engines and this episode of RWW Live is part of that. The show features 3 exciting and very knowledgeable guests: Jesús Pindado, Strands Vice President, Business Solutions; Yosi Glick, Jinni CEO & Co-Founder; and David Selinger, richrelevance CEO & Co-Founder, who previously led the R&D arm of Amazon’s Data Mining and Personalization team.
Personalized product recommendations are driving nearly 25% of total sales at Burton Snowboard’s online store since it implemented the recommendations program last year, the retailer and manufacturer report.
Burton’s site, which previously had served product recommendations to shoppers based on its top sellers, started using vendor richrelevance to help it offer a more personalized shopping experience. The personalized recommendations are based on an analysis of shopping behaviors and other data, including previous purchases and key search terms. Shoppers are presented with the relevant products at key points as they navigate through Burton’s site.
Leading sports retailer successfully implements RichRecs in less than 4 weeks; personalized recommendations are driving almost 25% of total sales on store.burton.com
Retail may be hurting now, but Richrelevance has found big opportunity serving that sector.
The San Francisco startup has grown quickly by helping companies suggest products to online shoppers.
After a rough holiday season, multichannel retailers are struggling to come up with the right ways to build customer loyalty. For Sears, a new e-mail and Web personalization program has helped keep the customer conversation going and allowed the retailer to respond to customers’ needs.
Sears and other retailers use a company called richrelevance to help personalize product recommendations for their online customers. Richrelevance tracks customer preferences and Website habits, analyzes the data, and develops profiles on consumers so e-commerce sites can better target product and service recommendations for customers’ individual interests during visits to retail Websites.
by David Selinger
As retailers head into what looks to be one of the most challenging holiday seasons on record, many have high hopes that top sellers will drive sales. But promoting “mega trends” like the Tickle Me Elmo or iPod of past holiday seasons won’t necessarily be the best way to drive sales this year, as many cash-strapped consumers forgo big-ticket items for smaller, less expensive gifts. Instead, retailers should take advantage of the technology tools available to them to hone in on the “micro trends” of the season.
Ten years ago, the Internet was regarded by most major retailers as an e-channel that augmented brick-and-mortar stores. Now, the Internet is the centerpiece in most retailers’ stables.
A pre-holiday survey from November 2008’s Internet Retailer (published in print only) reports 81.1 percent of U.S. retailers expect their holiday Web sales to increase this year, despite a faltering economy. The magazine cites Jupiter Research’s director and senior research analyst Patti Freeman: “The Web has a certain degree of immunity from tough times. Consumer perception is you can get things cheaper online. And there’s a much more affluent consumer buying online.”